Clinic Manager Sentenced For Receiving Misbranded Botox

St. Louis, MO – THOMAS GREG MARTIN was sentenced to six months of home confinement, 120 hours of community service and three years of probation for receiving misbranded Botox® from a foreign, unlicensed drug wholesaler, some of which had counterfeit exterior packaging.  Additionally, as part of his earlier plea, he agreed to the forfeiture of $32,000.

According to court documents, Martin operated Aestheticare LLC, a medical clinic which provided assorted cosmetic procedures to patients in St. Louis County, Missouri.  In March 2010, Martin received a facsimile transmission from an unlicensed drug wholesaler that offered low prices for assorted prescription drugs, including “Botox (Turkish)” for $344.99 a vial.  During this same time frame, the FDA-approved version of Botox® was sold through licensed drug wholesales at higher prices in the United States, typically $525 a vial.  From March 2010 through September 2012, Martin made over fifty separate purchases of these drugs from the unlicensed drug wholesaler.  Ultimately, Martin and others provided the illegal drugs to the clinic’s patients without informing them of the source of the drugs.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently issued a public safety alert regarding misbranded Botox®, found on the agency’s website at:  http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm349503.htm

"Foreign-made prescription drugs that do not meet FDA standards for safety and effectiveness place all consumers at risk," said Patrick J. Holland, Special Agent in Charge of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office, "FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations will continue to protect the public's health by guarding against these illegal drugs."

Martin, of St. Louis, pled guilty last December to one felony charge of receiving misbranded drugs. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Rodney Sippel. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.